As the chimes move in accord with the wind and make their sounds, I hear both trust and playfulness. Let the sounds create an image of an eagle soaring; imagine that eagle is you and the wind supporting you is the Spirit. What do you hear?
Trust the wind (Spirit) and soar
In our Daily Office, (Morning Prayer for 1/15/13), we read from Isaiah:
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-31 NRSV
Consider now this meditation from Lowell Grisham, Rector of St. Paul’s in Fayetteville, AR
What a compelling image. When the pressure is on; when we are weary and worn out; when there is more than we can handle; when we don’t know what to do… Isaiah says “Wait.” Breathe deeply. Be conscious and mindful. Wait for God.
I can see in my minds eye the next movement, an eagle beginning to mount the skies. With slow and deliberate movement, a perching eagle will spread her wings, feeling for the power of the wind. And then, gently, like sliding into water, the great bird will trust itself to the sky, throwing its arms out in a wide embrace. It catches the power of the wind and goes soaring, adjusting with modest effort as it picks up the drafts. In a similar way we can run and not be weary; walk and not be faint.
That’s the image I want to take with me today when that inevitable moment of weariness comes.
Please read the rest of his meditation, “Encouragement,” here.
You may visit the website of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Fayetteville, here.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Hear what the Spirit is saying 